Breathe
by lookingforthestars
Summary: Why isn't Paige more upset?


**Apparently I'm really in the mood to write fluff lately. I'm behind on reading fics so apologies if I'm stepping on anyone else's toes with my stories. Just trying to scratch my waiting-for-the-finale itch.**

 _Please come over._

Walter had never felt such relief and anxiety over a three-word message. He knew she needed space. It was one of the potential outcomes Toby had warned him about. But two days of virtual silence was excruciating. Because even though Paige had suggested that it would be beneficial for both of them to think things through, it wasn't necessary. Not for him. He'd known exactly what he wanted since the night she left for Tahoe.

A rapid-fire series of questions flooded his brain. What was she thinking? Did she want to reconcile? Break up? What if she was asking him to come over because something was wrong? He shook his head. If she was hurt or in danger, she would've called. It was illogical to jump to the worst case scenario, but to be fair, he'd seen her in more life-or-death situations than he would ever be comfortable with.

He drove to her apartment on autopilot, legs heavy as lead as he trudged up the stairs. Walter was desperate to see her, but unprepared for what they had to end. The conflict between those ideas was making his head swim and he grabbed onto the railing, forcing himself over the last few steps.

Three knocks. Deep breath.

Paige opened, looking exhausted and edgy and lost in her thoughts. The genius abandoned his plans to speak first when she silently took his hand, pulling him into the apartment and shutting the door behind him.

She stopped in the middle of the living room, releasing him and crossing her arms over her chest. She clearly hadn't slept much over the weekend and his stomach tightened into knots again, both at her appearance and the decision it likely signified.

"Tell me the truth," she said finally. "Did you cheat on me?"

"No." He started to reach for her and thought better of it at the last moment, flexing his fingers. "Everything I told you about that night was true."

Paige nodded, exhaling through her nose. "Were you tempted? D-Did you consider it?"

"Of course not. It never crossed my mind." Walter pressed his lips together. "I don't think…you would have dated me if you believed that was a possibility."

"Probably not," she acknowledged, looking down at her bare feet as her toes curled into the carpet. "Do you want this, Walter? Us. All of our problems. Our differences. If being together wasn't what you expected, that's okay. Just be honest with me now and I'll be okay. Don't lie to spare my feelings."

He stared at her. Did he want—? What a ridiculous question.

But she was tense. Biting her lip. Did she honestly not know how he would respond? Had he failed so thoroughly that she thought being with her wasn't the best thing that had ever happened to him?

Then again, they'd had three years to perfect hiding their feelings. And he had experienced similar uncertainty every time she complained about being bombarded with _genius stuff._ Was their relationship what he expected? Well, it was messy and strange and difficult and confusing, but so was the rest of his life. And his life was still better with her than without her.

It occurred to Walter that he should verbalize some of this.

"Y-Yes." He cleared his throat to give more substance to his voice. "I know it might never be easy, but I accept that. N-Nothing was really easy before I met you, either. And…I love you. Even if we weren't together, that would still be true. I don't want to go back to that."

Paige dropped her arms, the weight visibly lifting off her shoulders. "Neither do I," she admitted, blowing out a breath. "Okay."

"Okay?" She nodded again and Walter frowned. He'd expected to encounter more resistance. Something about Paige still seemed…odd. "Are you sure? I just thought you would be…"

"Yelling?" she finished when he trailed off. "Yeah, well, we've got bigger things to deal with."

Panic surged through him as his brain immediately picked apart dozens of scenarios, none of them particularly comforting. Paige must have seen the distress on his face because he became keenly aware of her stepping forward, resting one hand on the side of his neck and using the other to place his palm on her stomach.

"Y-You told me you were feeling sick over lying and I realized that I'd been feeling sick too, but I wasn't sure why, so I…I went to the doctor and…a-and I just wanted to be sure that you really wanted to be with me and you weren't just going to stay out of obligation like Drew did. But…" She swallowed, offering him a weak smile. "I'm pregnant. Well, we're pregnant. You were there too."

She was…Paige was…he was going to…he felt dizzy.

The man with the 197 IQ and conversational fluency in a dozen languages managed, "Um."

Paige started to tremble against him, her eyes glassy, and in that moment, they understood each other completely. "Walter, I'm freaking out."

"Don't freak out," he murmured, the urge to comfort her overriding his own struggle to process. Walter pulled Paige into his arms, burying his head in her shoulder and letting out a shaky laugh as the first wave of emotions hit him. "Don't freak out. It's gonna be okay."


End file.
